In these articles we cover several stylish, sexy outfits with some guidelines on who could/should wear them for best results.

This time, however, we turn the tables around and instead we will take an actual person (one of our readers) and tailor several outfits based on his natural features, such as physique, height, skin complexion and his goals with women and image.

And even though this means that not every one of you will find this article particularly helpful, if you can identify with some parts of our case study’s situation, you will find practical tips that you too can implement in your image. At least that is my hope (let me know in the comments what you think).

Because this is the first case study article we have here, let me share some of the behind-the-scenes processes that went into preparing it:

First, for this case study I asked for volunteers in our closed FB group (Available for The Wow! Factor students).

To those interested, I sent the questionnaire I use for my personal consultation clients. Actually, this case study is like a lite version of the personal consultations I offer (Though it’s but a fraction of what we cover in the actual personal consultation).

I then picked a few guys and asked them to send me photos of some of the clothes they already own. This way we can use already owned pieces whenever appropriate to save costs.

Lastly, to keep the anonymity of the guys, who volunteered for these case studies, I will crop out their faces/any other identifying details and use single letter “nicknames”. Today, for example, we’ll be working with E.

With this out of the way, let’s start this case study!

Let’s meet our “How To Dress” case study – E.

Age: 20

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Complexion contrast: High (Light skin, dark hair)

Height: 178 cm (5’ 10”)

Weight: 67 kg (147 lbs)

Proud of: Jawline, eyelashes, hair

Not-so-happy about: Chin symmetry

Complimented: Gets “checked out”, but rarely complimented directly

Social preferences:“I’m always on the lookout for unique places with tons of different people from all over the world. I like hanging out with resourceful, kind, ambitious people.”

Women:“Feminine, elegant, ambitious, cream of the crop”

Meeting women: Day game

Goals with women: Something more serious

Image Goals:“I want to portray excellence, and uniqueness. I try to look intelligent, ambitious, interesting, but I also want to look manly, strong, reliable at the same time.”

Climate: For Spring / Autumn.

Another thing is that we don’t have a big budget to play around with, so pricy but epic designer pieces are out of the question. For this reason I’ll also try to use as many items that E. already owns as I can when tailoring his new image.

I’ll be looking to build three different outfits for this case study, all for Spring / Autumn as desired by E. Needless to say, all three outfits need to be tailored to help him accomplish his romantic and image goals.

Now, based on the information above we should start by setting a few goals to make sure we look as sexy as we can and to the right kind of women:

And in the next section I’ll explain my reasoning for each target and how we’ll achieve them.

Tailoring The Image

Avoid losing perceived height

As E. is about average height, maximizing perceived height is not necessarily our top priority. It’s a nice addition whenever appropriate but we can focus on aesthetics and image suitability first, perceived height later. Nonetheless, we should avoid strategies that can make him look notably shorter than he actually is. This “pitfalls” include:

Straight / relaxed cuts on jeans and trousers

Ill fit in general

Super longline items

Most long outerwear

Large prints / patterns

Any items that can visually ruin the proportions between upper and lower body.

We don’t necessarily need to use all of these strategies in a single outfit, but implementing at least a few in our daily outfits is a great idea. Also, we should note that sometimes it makes sense to make a trade-off and sacrifice some perceived height in return for better aesthetics / more impressive image overall, especially when you’re about average height already.

Visually emphasize the V-shape physique

As you can see in the photo, E. already has an attractive, lean physique. He could probably benefit from a bit more musculature, but hey, that can be said about nearly every one of us, including me.

You can also see that he’s doing a good job with the outfit to present his physique in a very flattering way.

We should continue this in the new outfits we’re about to build for him. To name few of the strategies:

Tighter cuts, especially around the torso

Layering whenever possible

Strategic use of color contrast to direct focus

Pick collared tops (or uppermost layers) to make the shoulders look more muscular

Note: I really like both of E.’s outfits built around the shawl neck cardigan. I think he’s nearly on point with his desired image. Maybe just a few touch ups here and there in terms of accessorizing and its gold.

Image: An Unforgettable Man

I have to say, I absolutely love the raw, dirty, sexual bad boy image – I think it can be very impressive, easily set the right tone for sexual encounters and is stupendously effective when it comes to one night stands and similar casual dating scenarios.

And yet in this case it is NOT the image we want to go for.

If we want to attract the elegant, feminine, ambitious women and be more than her once-a-week dirty, little secret, we need to present ourselves accordingly. We need to tailor our image to be not just sexually attractive, but also show that we understand the social game and how to play it. Show that that being seen with us is not a social risk to her.

In terms of qualities that we want to sub-communicate, E. actually summed them up very well: “I want to portray excellence, and uniqueness. I try to look intelligent, ambitious, interesting, but I also want to look manly, strong, reliable at the same time.”

This brings us to our next goal with our outfits – excellence and uniqueness.

“Excellence” is relatively easy as it simply means spot on execution in terms of fit, colors and patterns, but “uniqueness” can be a bit trickier.

There are two ways we can achieve it:

First, by introducing stylish, epic pieces. Items that you won’t see 5 other guys wearing the moment you enter a venue. It doesn’t mean you need to wear tiger print leather pants or anything similarly ridiculous, but we should look into more uncommon pieces of clothing.

The problem with the first strategy is that there’s luck involved. You can’t just go to H&M one day and decide that you’ll buy a unique piece – you might find one, you might not.

The tricky part with the second strategy is that it requires some know-how on how to mix different styles in an outfit, without looking like a clown. To do it in a way so that when people spot you, the first idea is “Wow!..”, not “Huh?..”

As we have three outfits to build for this how to dress case study, I’ll look to show you examples of both of these strategies in action.

Choosing The Right Colors

Given E.’s complexion – light skin and black hair – we’re looking to add notable color contrast into our outfits to make sure that the outfit doesn’t look washed out compared to his natural features. Light skin also means that we should use the light, pastel colors sparingly and whenever possible include darker colors too (also helps with the desired contrast).

We should also avoid very bold colors as those would overwhelm the natural features.

It also makes sense to limit the color contrast between upper and lower body to help E. look visually taller.

Outfit 1. The Deliberate Artist

I’m not sure why but when I see that black & white stripe roll neck jumper my first thought – artist. And not the struggling kind. Indeed, the roll neck jumper is the key piece in this outfit and we’re building our outfit around it by adding both elegant and masculine pieces to accompany it.

In terms of uniqueness, the roll neck also does most of the heavily lifting as chances are slim that you’ll see anyone else rocking one like it. We just need to make sure we present it as a stylish, deliberate piece, not an eccentric whim of someone, who lost touch with reality.

As you can see, we’re building the outfit mainly around dark colors, adding some white for the contrast.

Leather jacket – Even though the roll neck is the defining piece, the outfit itself looks its absolute best when combined with the biker jacket. We need it for added masculine/edgy twist, plus it will help visually shape the physique in a very flattering way. A black racer leather jacket would work just as well too.

Striped shirt – Roll neck is a surprisingly smart piece given its simple design. Combined with the black & white stripes it creates a unique and attention grabbing effect. Ideally, we want it in a pretty tight cut though as long as the jacket stays on, it’s not an absolute must.

Dark blue/black jeans – In skinny cut given E.’s physique. As we’ll add plenty of edgy detailing with accessories (and the jacket), we want it in a plain, non-distressed design. Though subtle wash would be okay.

Chelsea boots – Best pair for this outfit for multiple reasons: the smooth transition between footwear and skinny jeans, elongating the frame and the extra cm or two from the heel. Also fits our image thematically. In black, leather or suede.

Belt – Black leather belt. As the jumper will be covering it most of the time anyway, it’s not a piece to stress about.

Accessories – For our hand accessories, we want a combination of a steel watch (black leather strap watch could work too, especially when the jacket is on), few bracelets – in this example I went with bead and leather combination – and a slick, minimalistic ring. We’ll be wearing watch and ring on one hand and bracelets on the other.

Outfit 2: Arousing Her Curiosity Through Contrast

Our second how to dress outfit is an example of mixing different image archetypes in a single outfit to create a unique image. We’re once again using smarter items (blazer, watch), with edgier pieces (ripped jeans, lace up boots). The floral tee works as the in-between piece meant to connect these two extremes.

To keep the outfit from being “all over the place”, we’re building it mostly around neutral colors.

Blazer – We’re looking for a slim/skinny cut blazer that looks somewhat casual (at least as far as blazers are concerned). A blazer that looks like it came from a suit, would clash with the edgier pieces too hard. It’s the key piece in terms of adding the smart aspect to the outfit.

Printed tee – I really like the idea of floral tee for a Spring outfit as it fits so well thematically and is quite uncommon too. In a stylish way. Alternatively, we could work just as well with striped or polka dot tees.

Ripped jeans – Once again we’re going with skinny jeans but the important design detail that we’re looking for is ripped knees without any other notable distressing. We want jeans that apart from the rips would look completely plain. Once again, this is to smooth the transitions between different styles we’re using in the outfit. I generally prefer black as it’s a more sexual option, but light blue could work during the day time.

Lace up boots – In brown. Could be brogue boots. Yes, Chelsea or Chukka could work too but given that E. already owns a brown pair of lace up boots, it’s a solid choice in this outfit. It’s also the most masculine option that we can choose from.

Belt – We want a brown belt to match with the boots (I’ll be honest, due to the lightning in the photo, I’m not be sure if this specific example does). But once again, we’re definitely wearing the tee untucked and it’ll be covering the belt most of the time anyway, so it’s not a big deal.

Hand accessories – Regarding the watch, we want a smart one in either brown or black strap (the former would be matched with the shoes, the latter with the jeans). We’re also picking up the blue & white rope bracelet on the other hand to add some color to the outfit. The black bead bracelet should be worn on the same hand as the rope one.

Lightweight scarf (optional) – Grey lightweight scarf. It’s not necessary for a great looking outfit but if you’re having a windy day or simply want to add some volume to make the shoulders look more muscular, it’s a good pick up. Alternatively, we could go with a steel necklace.

Outfit 3: Mysterious And Unforgettable

Alright, so we built an outfit with a leather jacket, one with a blazer, now let’s see how our image goals translate to a look built around a trench coat.

This is our last look for this case study and this time, it’s the colors we’ll use that are the biggest selling point in the outfit. Both in terms of attractiveness and uniqueness.

Trench coat – Black trench coat, ideally in slim cut (though as a trench coat has a belt we can always use it to tighten the waist). Yes, it’s not the perfect item in terms of perceived height but in this situation it’s a very worthwhile trade-off considering what we gain in terms of aesthetics. Would work with a regular coat in slim cut too.

V-neck jumper – In black or navy. For the most flattering look, should be in slim cut and worn with a buttoned shirt underneath. The dark color does a great job slimming down the waist and combined with a brighter buttoned shirt, create the V-form shape for the upper body.

Buttoned shirt – Either in white or in black & white check. As we’ll be wearing it untucked for a more casual look, it should end just below the belt line in terms of length.

Burgundy jeans – Really great looking piece from E.’s wardrobe. It will do a great job helping the outfit stand out and overall give it a more unique feel.

Chelsea boots – Even with burgundy jeans, we still need to be careful to avoid looking overly dressy and that’s always a risk when going for a jumper & buttoned shirt combo. In turn, Chelsea boots is our best option and a very good looking one at that too!

Belt – Yup, once again the belt is going to be hidden by the untucked buttoned shirt. Still, we should go for a smart leather belt.

Lightweight scarf – To lighten up the outfit a bit and extra color contrast, we’re going for a lightweight printed scarf. Yes, grey scarf would work too but not as effectively (especially given how well this blue & white scarf works with our hand accessory choice too).

Hand accessories – As in the previous outfit, we’re using both smart and edgier hand accessories with the black strap leather watch on one hand and bracelets on the other. We could also add a minimalistic, slick ring on the hand with the watch but its ultimately not necessary. The idea here is that we want to keep with combination of smart and edgier details once the trench coat and scarf comes off too.

Finishing Thoughts

In this how to dress case study we had a very well-dressed guy, who’s looking to further tailor his image to suit his life, aspirations and romantic goals. That’s great!

But when you’re doing a transition from mostly one night stands and similar casual encounters to something more serious, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that you should get all conservative and understated with your image. I think it’s a mistake.

The thing is, regardless of the length or “seriousness” of a relationship, we’re still looking for a sexual partner, not a platonic friend and in turn, we should keep some of the masculine edginess in the way we present ourselves. When combined with elegant/smart pieces, this creates a mysterious, intriguing image of a man on a mission, who is in touch with his rebellious side.